Despite being built for the company's larger RWD models, Ford also employed the engine in the front-wheel drive Galaxy and the Escort RS 2000 16v.

Equipped with a newly designed cast aluminium alloy twin-cam cylinder head but still only 8 valves, and a "square" 86 mm × 86 mm (3.39 in × 3.39 in) bore and stroke, the new I4 was launched in the Ford Sierra and Scorpio, mated to either the also new all-synchromesh MT-75 5-speed manual transmission or the existing A4LD four-speed automatic.

In 1990, the MkV Escort had been launched to disappointing press reviews, and Ford were looking to boost the image of this critically important range and steal sales from arch rivals Vauxhall and VW who were doing very well with big bore GTE/GTI badged versions of their family hatches.

Ford's strategy was to introduce two high-performance versions of the Escort to compete in the hot hatch market, using the well known XR3i and RS2000 badges.

With the discontinuation of the Sierra in 1993 and the RS2000 in 1996, the I4 engine continued in more workaday applications, appearing in the Ford Galaxy MPV launched in 1995.